Zalai Múzeum 14. Müller Róbert 60 éves (Zalaegerszeg, 2005)

Horváth László: Grave of a Celtic warrior from Magyarszerdahely (Zala county)

ZALAI MÚZEUM 14 2005 Horváth László Grave of a Celtic warrior from Magyarszerdahely (Zala County) Between 1971 and 1975, 28 Celtic and 34 Roman graves were unearthed in Magyarszerdahely, close to a former sandpit. The results of the excavation were published in 1979 (HORVÁTH 1979). Celtic Corpus contains only partial results of the excavation (HORVÁTH 1979, 84-96, Pl. X-XIII; PL XIV, 10-12) because at the time of publication assessment of finds had not been finished. The western part of the former sandpit still exists. Within that area runs a telephone cable in NW-SE direction. At the time of the excavation it was not possible to excavate the western part of the sandpit precisely because of the telephone cable. In 1984 within the area a pit was dug to gain sand. In the wall of the pit a Celtic vessel was found with stamped decoration. The find was reported to the György Thúry Museum and a rescue excavation was launched to recover the disturbed archaeological feature. The excavation revealed a scattered Celtic cremation in a pit. With this grave the excavated number of Celtic burials from this site increased to 29. The grave was given a number 63 (Fig. 1). The burial produced an iron sword in its sheath and iron fibulae that have already been published (SZABÓ-PETRES 1992, 95, PL 51). However the circumstances of the finds have not been reported upon and the other grave goods were also inaccurately published. The illustration of complete grave goods with a short summary of the circumstances of the find appeard in print, although it is hard to access (HORVÁTH 1994, 108, 13-15. kép). This paper assesses the available information on the burial and discusses its archaeological and historical context. Description of the grave and grave goods The eastern side of the round-cornered rectangular grave was destroyed by works to mine sand. The grave was 135 x 110 cm and 150 cm deep. The metal goods, which were in a heap with ash and bone-fragments, were found in the northern part of the grave. There was also a razor with remains of textile on it, indicating that the objects were wrapped in the textile. The soil with the bone fragments and the metal finds was ashy and charcoaly and might have been the remains of bonfire. Three pots were also found in the grave, placed diagonally in one line. 1. Fibula (Fig. 3, 1): Made of iron, heavily corroded and broken into several pieces. The foot was bolted backwards and decorated with one small and one larger spherical boss. The bosses are decorated with concave half-spherical impressions. Between the two bosses and at the end of the foot are small knobs. The edges of these small knobs are rimmed. The foot is bolted towards the bow. Its spring is upper corded with 2-2 division of the spring. Length: 16,2 cm. 2. Fibula fragment (Fig. 3, 2): Foot and bow fragment of an iron fibula. Its foot is decorated with a spherical boss. Length: 2,8 cm. 3. Iron sword with its sheath (Fig. 3, За-b; Fig. 6, la-b): The sword was enfolded three times prior to burial. It is heavily corroded and its end and parts of the sheath are missing. The reconstructed length of the sword is 85,5 cm including the 12,3 cm long hilt. The widest part of the sword is 4,4 cm while the widest part of the sheath is 5 cm. The hilt has two oval iron discs which indicate that the handle was made of organic material and oval in cross section. The shoulder of the sword where the hilt and blade meet has a step like edge. The front of the sheath exhibits carved symmetrical motifes that are characteristic to „Hungarian sword style". The back of the sheath has a T-shaped suspension loop. The upper part of the back of the sheath and the suspension loop are also decorated with carved motifes. The decorations are heavily corroded and their shape is not always clear; the drawings are considered to be reconstructions. The end of the sheath is missing.

1 4. Shield boss and fragments of shield frame (Fig. 4, 1-2; Fig. 6, 3): The shield boss is raised and forms an elongated band. The band is pierced and profiled; the profiling is reminiscent of wings. The two ends of